In 2012, Safaricom partnered with Commercial Bank of Africa and unveiled M-shwari a product that runs off Mpesa and in the menu. M-shwari allows customers to save money that is in Mpesa to a bank account without actually going to the bank to open an account. Users are able to save money from as low as 1 shilling and credit of as low as 100 shillings. Money borrowed is transferred immediately to Mpesa account for withdrawal. Users could also access credit facilities using the facility. M-shwari currently has 11 million registered users with 5.8 million active users.
The Commercial Bank of Africa has partnered with mobile Health service provider Hello Doctor, seeking to deliver M-shwari customers with medical consultation services on their mobile devices. The service aims to deliver the health information to customers when clients need a quick healthcare reference. The service will deliver the information daily, through the Hello Doctor application. The application will also provide healthcare advice, answers to health-related questions in chat forums as well as one-on-one conversation with a doctor. The patient can also opt to receive a call from a doctor within a given time frame. The service will also be available on feature phones through USSD.
The launch of the service comes at the backdrop of the launch of a similar product between Airtel Kenya and Medanta Africare in April 2015, that allows customers to call and receive health advice from doctors. Patients are able to receive the advise on calling 1525, besides allowing customers to access health services at home at pre-defined rates. The service was previously available to Safaricom customers where by dialing 1525, they would talk to qualified medical personnel and receive health advice at a cost of 20/=.
